Gaspare LoDuca has been designated MIT’s vice president for information systems and technology (IS&T) and chief information officer, effective Aug. 18. Currently serving as vice president for information technology and CIO at Columbia University, LoDuca has occupied IT leadership positions in or associated with higher education for over twenty years. He takes over from Mark Silis, who steered IS&T from 2019 until 2024 before departing to rejoin the entrepreneurial landscape in the San Francisco Bay area.
Executive Vice President and Treasurer Glen Shor revealed the appointment today in a message to MIT faculty and staff.
“I am confident that Gaspare will be an outstanding addition to MIT, offering extensive experience in assisting faculty, researchers, staff, and students along with a highly collaborative approach,” states Shor. “He is keen to begin his collaboration with our gifted IS&T team to define and execute their contributions to the future of information technology at MIT.”
LoDuca will manage the IS&T organization and supervise MIT’s information technology framework and services that bolster its research and academic endeavors across student and administrative systems, network operations, cloud services, cybersecurity, and customer support. As co-chair of the Information Technology Governance Committee, he will steer the formulation of IT policy and strategy at the Institute. He will also be instrumental in MIT’s initiative to modernize its business processes and administrative systems, working in close partnership with the Business and Digital Transformation Office.
“Gaspare brings to his new position a wealth of experience in leading a multifaceted IT organization,” states Provost Cynthia Barnhart, who was one of Shor’s advisors throughout the search process. “His extensive background, combined with his vision for the future of information technology and digital transformation at MIT, is compelling. I am excited to witness the positive influence he will have here.”
“As I embark on my new role, I intend to understand more about MIT’s culture and community to ensure that any decisions or adjustments we make align with the community’s needs and are implemented in a manner suited to the culture. I’m also eager to discover more about the research and initiatives undertaken by students and faculty to further MIT’s mission. It’s motivating, and I’m enthusiastic about supporting their achievements,” states LoDuca.
In his position at Columbia, LoDuca has supervised the IT department, led IT governance committees for institutional and departmental IT operations, and guaranteed the secure functioning of the university’s enterprise-class systems since 2015. Throughout his tenure, he has fostered a culture of customer service and innovation — developing a new student information system, identifying emerging technologies for classroom and laboratory use, and establishing a data-sharing platform for university researchers as well as a grants dashboard for principal investigators. He also overhauled Columbia’s technological infrastructure and implemented measures to secure and bolster the reliability of its technology assets.
Prior to his time at Columbia, LoDuca was the technology managing director for the education sector at Accenture from 1998 to 2015. In that capacity, he assisted universities in crafting and executing technology strategies and adopting contemporary applications and systems. His projects involved overseeing the deployment of finance, human resources, and student administration systems for clients such as Columbia University, University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon University, the University System of Georgia, and Yale University.
“At a research institution, there’s a diverse array of activities occurring daily, and our responsibility in IT is to facilitate them all while also addressing cybersecurity risks. We must be imaginative and considerate in our solutions, taking into account the needs and expectations of our community,” he states.
LoDuca possesses a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University. He and his wife are new empty nesters and are in the process of moving to Boston.